and someone said, well, you may not know it, but he was there when columbus discovered the earth was round and newton discovered gravity and franklin discovered electricity. mr. speaker, they say that imtation is the greatest form of flattery, and this was a poor attempt on my part to show how ralph hall brightens this institution every day with his humor. he is clearly the witnessiest member of congress in a body that is in desperate need to be brightened up and benefited by such great witt and humor. besides his witt and humor, he is the wisest men to serve in this body and i benefit from that wisdom as do so many others. mr. speaker, we heard earlier that ralph said i would rather be respected at home and liked in washington, not only is he respected in rockwall, texas, he is beloved in rockwall, texas and not only is he liked in washington, more importantly, he is respected in washington, and more importantly, he is respected by both republicans and democrats alike, and that, mr. speaker, is a huge, huge testament. so, mr. speaker, i'm honored to recognize a texas legend, a world